Tony Evans - Experiencing God Together

Table of Contents

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Verses marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Italicized emphasis in Scripture quotations is added by the author.

Cover by Harvest House Publishers Inc., Eugene, Oregon

Cover photo JamesBrey / Gettyimages

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my friends at Harvest House Publishers for their partnership in publishing. I would also like to thank Heather Hair for her skills and insights in collaborating on this manuscript.

Experiencing God Together

Copyright 2015 Tony Evans

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97408

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-7746-3 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-7747-0 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Evans, Tony

Horizontal Jesus / Tony Evans.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-7369-5899-8 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-5900-1 (eBook)

1. LoveReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. Christian life. I. Title.

BV4639.E93 2015

241.4dc23

2015004973

All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of authors and publishers rights is strictly prohibited.

C ONTENTS

Take a stroll down the yellow brick road as Tony paints a word portrait of the critical part we play in each others lives.

GO .T ONY E VANS . ORG /HJ

C an the things we do for others affect what God does for usfor better or for worse?

We might think the answer is no. God has saved us by grace through faith, not by our works. So how could what we do for others possibly affect what God does for us? Doesnt that sound legalistic, as if we could earn Gods blessings? Besides, God is sovereign. He has a plan, and no one can prevent Him from accomplishing it. Surely a few small detailssuch as the way we treat other peoplewont keep the God of all creation from doing what He has purposed to do, right? We cant influence the heart and hand of the sovereign God of the universe simply by the way we treat other people, can we?

Then again, maybe we can.

In fact, the answer from Scripture is a resounding yes . Our relationships with other people do affect our experience of God. Not because we can earn Gods answers to our prayers (we cant), and not because God hasnt already decided what to do (He most surely has). His plan is never in jeopardy. Rather, the reason why our horizontal relationships with each other affect our vertical experience of God is simply this: Thats how God designed it to be. This is His kingdom. God is the one who decided that the way we interact with others impacts the way He will interact with us. This is His design for us.

Gods love is pure, and His grace is great. The question is, how much of that love and grace will we experience in our own lives? God freely pours out His blessings, but we can receive them only if we allow them to flow through us and out to others.

Maybe an illustration will help us grasp this truth. I have four kids, and I love them dearly. My love for them is secure. They never need to worry about losing my love, and they never need to worry about no longer being my children. Each one will forever and always be my child.

However, when the kids were growing up, we had certain standards in our homebehavioral expectations of how they were to treat their parents and how they were to treat each other. When they broke these standards, we never stopped loving them. They never stopped being our children. But they did experience a different side of us.

For example, if one of my daughters was playing with a friend at our house, and if my other daughter wanted to join in, both of our girls knew that they were to be polite and inclusive as an act of love. They also knew there were consequences for the way they handled the situation. If my daughters treated each other with love and respect, they knew what to expect from me when I got home. But if they decided to snub each other and be rude and unkind, they knew they would experience another response from me when I arrived.

This wasnt because I loved them any less. It wasnt because our relationship was severedjust the opposite. It was because my job as their father included training them and enforcing the relational expectations in our home. So if one daughter excluded the other, I would sit her down and explain that what she did was hurtful and wrong. And perhaps that night, she would not be included in family game time simply as a reminder of what it feels like to be left out. Again, my love for her hadnt changed. My role in her life as her father hadnt changed. But her actions changed her experience of me for that evening.

God is a loving Father, and He loves each of us passionately. Just as any parents heart aches when their children hurt one another, Gods heart is burdened when that happens in the body of Christ.

In addition, when God bestows His favor on each of usgood health, blessed finances, unique skills, or relational acumenHe doesnt do that simply for our own benefit. He does that so that we can be conduits of His blessings to others. When His blessings stop with us and dont flow through us to others, do you think Hes going to continue pouring out His favor on us? What would you do with your child?

Imagine youre in a candy store with two of your kids, and you decide to buy one bag of candy for them to share. You pay for the candy, hand the bag to the older child, and ask him to share it with your younger child. The older child is the steward of the candy, but hes not the owner. It belongs to both of them because it ultimately belongs to you.

Now imagine that your older child begins hoarding all the candy and refusing to give any to your younger child. What would you do? When the candy ran out, would you refill the bag with more candy and give it to your older child again? Or would you make other arrangements this time? Your love for your child wouldnt change. But your childs experience of your blessing and provision in his life would definitely change.

Similarly, none of us are owners of what we haveour time, talents, or treasures. These things all belong to God. He entrusts them to us so we can use them to advance His kingdom on earth, benefit one another, and glorify Him. When we dont align our actions with Gods teaching on how we are to be with one another, we are not removing ourselves from Gods family. We are not cutting ourselves off from Him. But we are limiting the full expression and experience of His presence and goodness in our livesnot because He is mean, but because He is good.